It’s four days until Christmas, and all through the U.S. Starbucks employees are picketing for fair labor practices. This strike is expected to be the biggest one yet for the union.
According to a Facebook post from the Starbucks Workers United union, hundreds of stores are participating. These stores include locations in Burbank, Calif., in the Los Angeles area; Seattle, Wash.; Denver, Colo.; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Evanston, Ill., in the Chicago area.
“At this location not a single drink has been served,” said a Saturday Facebook post from the California Fast Food Workers Union about the LA-area strike. “Starbucks repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year. It’s December 21st. #NoContractNoCoffee.”
Per the Starbucks union: “Baristas are walking out because Starbucks’ failure to bring viable economic proposals to the bargaining table and to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges.”
“Since February, Starbucks has repeatedly pledged publicly that they intended to reach contracts by the end of the year – but they’ve yet to present workers with a serious economic proposal,” said the union.
In a Dec. 17 press release, the union said that 98% of members voted to authorize the strike.
In a solidarity canvass message for the Christmas holiday strike, the union said that strikes were set to begin Friday and “escalate” until Christmas Eve in three major markets: LA, Chicago and Seattle. That message also said that Starbucks has failed to resolve hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges.
Starbucks Workers United also invited allies to join the strike by hosting small “flyering” events at non-union stores. It said that on each day of the strike, a few “anchor” picket lines will be announced.
“It’s time to finalize a foundational framework that includes meaningful investments in baristas and to resolve unfair labor practice charges,” said Silvia Baldwin, a Philadelphia barista and bargaining delegate. “Starbucks can’t get back on track as a company until it finalizes a fair contract that invests in its workforce. Right now, I’m making $16.50 an hour. Meanwhile, Brian Niccol’s compensation package is worth $57,000 an hour. The company just announced I’m only getting a 2.5% raise next year, $0.40 an hour, which is hardly anything. It’s one Starbucks drink per week. Starbucks needs to invest in the baristas who make Starbucks run.”
Partners from different Starbucks stores in Buffalo, N.Y. filed petitions to unionize and started Starbucks Workers United in 2021. Previously, Audacy has covered union efforts, including a strike last summer over LGBTQ+ Pride decorations and alleged union busting. So far this year, Starbucks Workers United baristas led baristas at over 100 stores to vote to join the union and now 11,000 are baristas working together towards union initiatives.
This Starbucks strike comes at the same time that the Teamsters union announced an Amazon worker strike.